The Jamaican bobsled team.

Bobsled time!

Terrorist threats and homosexuality have been the major topics of the media for the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics. I do my best to ignore that and concentrate on what it really means. I found myself struggling and then this crazy thing happened. I read on Facebook that the Jamaican Bobsled team could not afford the trip to Sochi. It offered a funding organization that gave me a way to help.

I hesitated only long enough to make sure it was a secure site and then joyfully contributed. As I checked back throughout the two-day campaign people from not just Jamaica, but every country with the means to view this had chimed in. By the end hour they accumulated $129,000-plus, which had exceeded the goal. That, my friends, is what the Olympics is really all about. The world as one.

A woman's issue

Wednesday's Readers Forum was devoted almost exclusively to letters from anti-abortion enthusiasts waxing poetic about the sanctity of life. Bringing a child into this world is a weighty responsibility, and an expectant mother must be physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially prepared to take it on; or the consequences could be dire for all concerned - including the baby. Only the mother herself is qualified to assess her ability to meet so demanding a challenge.

Despite attempts to use abortion as a wedge issue in election years, it is not a government issue. It is a woman's issue. And religious doctrine notwithstanding, no one should presume to make such an important decision on behalf of someone they don't even know. All life is indeed sacred, and while I applaud the willingness of these activists to get involved, their time and energy might be better directed in pursuit of gun control legislation to protect the vulnerable of all ages.

Offensive argument

In fairness to her, at least she didn't crassly double down with a fresh, offensive Hitler-based argument as your editorial did.

Greg Stumbo told a gathering of Alison Lundergan Grimes's campaign contributorsthat if she succeeds in unseating Mitch McConnell in this year's Senate race, they would no longer need to imagine "what it felt like" to be a Greatest Generation G.I. liberating captive nations and death camps. They were "liberating a country [from Hitler's depredations]? Well, you're about to liberate your state [from having Mitch McConnell as a senator]."

It's bad enough for partisan politicians to talk this way. But it's stunning and very troubling to see a newspaper of record like The Courier-Journal so far gone with a case of McConnell Derangement Syndrome that you can't see how offensive Stumbo's comparison will come across to the families of American soldiers, death camp survivors and all Americans who expect decency and a sense of moral proportion from officials.

Alison Lundergan Grimes should be aware that when she fails to draw a line and condemn egregious remarks like Stumbo's, a wide audience in Kentucky and beyond will notice - and will remember what she's revealed about her character and judgment. The same goes for your paper.

MATTHEW BROOKS

Executive Director

Republican Jewish Coalition

Washington, D.C. 20001

Real No. 1

Arizona is ranked No. 1, but the referees should be No. 1 and Arizona No. 2, because the referees have won more games than the players. The NCAA needs to check to see what's going on with the referees making these bad calls, especially for certain teams.